Fantasy Mailbag: Stay the course on Blackhawks’ Panarin

Mailbag time! The following is a selection of questions that you tweeted @Sportsnet after we put the call out. And this fantasy hockey gold doesn’t end here – follow me on Twitter @DobberHockey for more insight.

Currently the fourth leading scorer in the NHL (tied). A rookie with virtually no preseason hype has found chemistry with Patrick Kane and has taken off.

So do you play the odds and sell while Artemi Panarin’s value is at such a high? No. In this case, you have to trust the talent. True, he won’t finish fourth in scoring (probably). But he stands just as good a chance of finishing in the Top 15 as anyone else currently in the Top 15.

Would you get a Top 15 player for him right now? Maybe. But if you do, it will be a sideways move. It’s certainly doubtful you’ll get a proven Top 10 player for him, though - therefore you should stick with what you have.

As long as both he and Kane remain healthy, they’ll put up big numbers. I’m on board the Panarin train now.

@Sportsnet@DobberHockey sell high on current breakouts B. Jenner, K. Palmieri, Parayko? Time to give up on Soderberg, Huberdeau, R. Smith?

You’ve listed six players and four of them are doing what was expected.

Carl Soderberg should get his usual low-50s (on pace for 39); Reilly Smith should finish in the high-40s which is his current pace. Two other players, Boone Jenner and Kyle Palmieri, are producing at the right points-per-game clip. However, those two are prone to injury so there is some risk. You can expect continued production at that pace and if you have an IR spot then you can stash them there when you have to.

The other two players are the surprises. Jonathan Huberdeau had a very strong second half last season, so if you can afford to wait it out I think it will be worth your while. He’s on pace for 43 points but I think he gets to the high-50s.

The other one, Colton Parayko, is the real deal. I didn’t expect anything like this so quickly and I don’t expect such a pace (53 points) to continue, but he’s a safe bet for 40 and that’s still very valuable.

I’m the wrong guy to ask, because I think the world of Evgeni Malkin and that’s what I’d ask for: the world. The best of the best in whatever position I needed. Be it Erik Karlsson for defencemen, Carey Price for goaltending, or Sidney Crosby (plus more, given his current output).

My asking price would not be considered “fair” by the other fantasy owners in my league. But if they say no to me, I’m happy with the consolation prize: keeping Malkin. If you really want to trade him, my best advice would be to use him to fill every weakness on your roster and never, ever settle.

Set your price and hold the line on it.

@Sportsnet@DobberHockey have Price, MAF and Rinne. Thinking of trading one and a mid tier forward for Dubnyk and top 25. What do you think

I think that’s a great strategy. That’s exactly what I would do. You have a stud sitting on your bench and you can hold the rest of your league hostage while there’s a bidding war. Dubnyk and top skater would be a great return.

Any player can be dropped if there is a better option on the wire. But yes, Silfverberg still has the sleeper potential.

Right now 2 per cent of his shots on goal have gone in and 3.2 per cent of his teammates’ shots on goal have gone in when he is on the ice. That’s a ridiculously low pace and were those numbers closer to the league average he’d have about four goals and nine assists – palatable numbers.

Chalk up the start to ‘luck’ and hope for a turnaround sooner rather than later.

This one has me stumped. After two years, 126 games, of 0.75 points-per-game production, he stumbles to 0.30. Plus-13 in each of the last two seasons but then minus-12 this year. His hits are down, too.

It makes me wonder if he just needs more time to recover from last season’s serious biceps injury. I’d still be reluctant to drop him unless your league is very shallow and there are tons of quality rearguards on the waiver wire.

I consider their upside as about equal. Both players are potential first liners. And when you look at the opportunities within the organization I really like their situation, too. Each player will have an opportunity to flourish rather quickly. Put a gun to my head and make me choose and I would go with Mikko Rantanen.

Try not to drop goalies if you can help it. I don’t think highly of Riley Sheahan while Pavel Datsyuk is healthy. But I also don’t think highly of Valtteri Filppula period. Drop Filppula, because at least Sheahan has potential.

@Sportsnet@DobberHockey considering trading A.Markov for Bobrovsky...league details aside, which would you rather have for rest of season?

Always take the goalie and always rate the goalie slightly higher than the skater. Besides, in his last 10 games he has seven wins and a 2.26 goals-against average and 0.925 save percentage. He’s clearly back on track. A great tool for calculating goalie numbers like that over a certain time span is here.

@Sportsnet@DobberHockey what do you make of this trade in a keeper league w/ G,A,Blks,PIM-Miller,Lindberg for Schneider,Landeskog?

Yes, assuming his current injury is not serious I think he’ll bounce back and have a productive year. Probably not like 2014-15, but that’s because the entire team has stumbled out of the gate offensively.

I gave my thoughts on Silfverberg above. As for Hagelin, I’ve never thought highly of him and his current 21-point pace doesn’t shock me. He’ll probably end up with his usual 35 points or so.

Drouin is a bit of a mystery. So much talent, but he’s buried on the fourth line (again) despite starting the season off with six points in five games. I wouldn’t put money on him getting more than 40 points, but to be honest it’s looking more like 30 unless something drastic happens.

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